Two Republicans Want Muslims Deported. A Muslim Man Just Saved Lives in the Attack They Cited.

Tuberville and Fine Spark Backlash

Hours after gunmen killed 15 people at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, two Republican lawmakers took to social media with a demand: deport Muslims from America.

Senator Tommy Tuberville called Islam a cult.

Congressman Randy Fine called for travel bans and citizenship revocations. What neither mentioned was the man who stopped the attack from being worse.

Ahmed al Ahmed, a 43-year-old Syrian-born Muslim, tackled one of the shooters and wrestled away his rifle.

He took five bullets doing it.

Tuberville Posts Hours After the Attack

Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama did not wait long.

On the same day two gunmen opened fire on Jewish families celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach, he posted on X that Islam is “not a religion” but “a cult.”

He wrote that Muslims in America are “here to conquer” and demanded they be sent “home now.”

Tuberville, who is running for Alabama governor in 2026, warned the country would become “the United Caliphate of America” if it did not act.

Fine Calls for Mass Deportations

Congressman Randy Fine of Florida went further the next day.

He demanded a “Muslim travel ban, radical deportations of all mainstream Muslim legal and illegal immigrants, and citizenship revocations wherever possible.”

Fine, who represents a district that includes Daytona Beach, wrote that “mainstream Muslims have declared war on us.”

He added that diversity has become “suicidal.” Fine is Jewish and has made combating antisemitism a focus of his time in Congress.

Bondi Beach Shooting Kills 15

The attack that sparked the statements happened on December 14, 2025, at a Hanukkah event called Chanukah by the Sea.

Around 1,000 people had gathered near Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach when two men opened fire from a footbridge.

The victims ranged from a 10-year-old child to an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor. Two rabbis were among the dead.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called it “an act of pure evil” and the worst mass shooting in Australia since 1996.

Attackers Linked to ISIS Ideology

Australian authorities identified the shooters as 50-year-old Sajid Akram and his 24-year-old son Naveed.

Police found two homemade ISIS flags in their vehicle, along with improvised explosive devices. The father had immigrated from India in 1998 and held a legal firearms license.

His son was born in Australia and had been briefly investigated by security services in 2019 over ties to a Sydney-based ISIS cell.

Authorities said both men traveled to the southern Philippines in November, a region known for Islamist insurgent groups.

Syrian Muslim Tackles the Gunman

Ahmed al Ahmed was having lunch near the beach when the shooting started.

In footage viewed millions of times, he crouches behind a parked car, then launches himself at one of the attackers.

He wrestles the rifle away, points it at the gunman, then carefully sets it against a tree.

The second shooter then opened fire on him. Al Ahmed, a fruit shop owner and father of two young daughters, took bullets to his shoulder and arm.

His family says he told them he would do it again.

World Leaders Praise the Hero

President Trump called al Ahmed “a very, very brave person” who saved many lives.

Australian Prime Minister Albanese visited him in the hospital and called him “an Australian hero.”

The premier of New South Wales posted a photo at his bedside and thanked him on behalf of the entire state. A fundraising campaign raised more than $1.4 million Australian dollars in two days.

Al Ahmed’s father told reporters he wanted the world to remember his Muslim son risked his life to protect others.

Democrats Call the Rhetoric Disgusting

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer responded to Tuberville directly.

He called the posts “an outrageous, disgusting display of islamophobia” and said such rhetoric is beneath a senator.

Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut called the comments “vile and un-American” and said the founders would “cringe.”

Schumer, who is Jewish, wrote that “the answer to despicable antisemitism is not despicable islamophobia.” The Center for International Policy called for Tuberville to be censured and removed from office.

Both Lawmakers Double Down

Neither Tuberville nor Fine backed away from their statements.

When asked about criticism, Tuberville’s office repeated his claim that “Islam is not a religion, it is a cult.”

Fine responded to Schumer by calling him “a disgrace to the Jewish people” and wrote that “Islamophobia isn’t real” because “fear of Islam is rational.”

The two lawmakers had previously introduced legislation together earlier in 2025 to ban sharia law in the United States, even though no federal court recognizes it as a legal alternative.

Civil Rights Group Names Tuberville an Extremist

The Council on American-Islamic Relations added Tuberville to its list of anti-Muslim extremists.

The group’s research director said Tuberville had “gone full blast with his attacks on Muslims” by introducing bills targeting the faith and declaring it is not a religion.

Tuberville responded by calling the designation “a badge of honor.”

Former Alabama Senator Doug Jones, a Democrat now running for governor against Tuberville, called him “so bigoted with religious bigotry” and said Alabama should be welcoming to all people.

GOP Leadership Avoids the Comments

House Speaker Mike Johnson condemned the Bondi Beach shooting as “an appalling antisemitic terrorist attack” and called it “another wake-up call.”

But when asked about the statements from Fine and Tuberville, a spokesperson for Johnson deferred to those earlier comments about the violence in Australia.

Johnson’s office did not directly address the calls for Muslim deportation.

This follows a pattern from earlier in 2025, when GOP leadership remained silent after Fine called a Muslim congresswoman a terrorist sympathizer.

The Hero Recovers While the Debate Continues

Ahmed al Ahmed remains in a Sydney hospital, recovering from surgeries to remove bullets still lodged in his shoulder.

His lawyer says he is in significant pain but has no regrets.

Muslim groups in Australia and around the world condemned the Bondi Beach attack and expressed solidarity with the Jewish community.

The Australian National Imams Council called it a moment for all Australians to stand together. Al Ahmed’s father put it simply: his son saw people dying and could not bear to watch.

So he ran toward the gunfire.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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